Project information

Maggie's Cancerkin’s Support Programme

Maggie’s at the Cancerkin Centre provides free practical, emotional, social support, and complementary therapies, for people with cancer across north London. Our Centre is a warm and welcoming place with professional staff on hand to offer the support people need to find their way through cancer.

Charity information: Maggie's Centres

Need

Each year, approximately 331,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK. A diagnosis of cancer can be very shocking for the person concerned. They may be frightened of treatment, pain, death; fear for their children, family, and friends. Their world is turned upside down and they may feel unable to cope. Their families and friends may also be affected. There is a great need for non-medical support for all those affected by cancer.

Solution

Our Cancer Support Programme provides complementary therapies and exercise groups, completely free of charge. The therapies relax the mind and body, improve sleep quality and reduce stress and tension. Physical activity during and after cancer treatment can boost energy, alongside reducing the impact of side effects such as lymphoedema (swelling of the arm) , anxiety, depression and impaired mobility. The project simply aims to improve patients' sense of wellbeing during a very traumatic time.

Aim 1

To improve the wellbeing of people with cancer by providing practical, emotional and social support.

Activities

» Provide 10 counselling sessions a week to support patients and carers through their cancer journey. » Run 48 guided relaxation sessions to help mitigate treatment side effects such as insomnia and pain, whilst reducing stress. » Run fitness and gentle group exercise classes, helping patients to recover physical function, manage fatigue and improve their quality of life. » Run 1300 free one-to-one complementary therapy sessions, providing periods of relaxation and respite to over 300 newly diagnosed patients

What success will look like

Provide over 6500 episodes of care for patients and carers throughout the year. For 95% of participants monitored to have benefited (more relaxed, positive, better able to cope).

Impact

The long term impact of our project will enable patients and carers to cope with the illness more positively, helping them through change and ensuring they have something to look forward to.
We will demonstrate success by monitoring the impact of our programme with participant questionnaires and oral feedback: at least 95% of participants surveyed should say they benefit from the project. Success will also be at least 500 new participants in 2019, continuing to reach those recently diagnosed.

Risk

1. Insufficient patients. We have worked closely with all of the oncology departments throughout the Royal Free London NHS Foundation trust to extend our networks across all three hospital sites. As well as other hospitals across north London. The number of people using the Centre rises each year.
2. Therapists resign or fall ill. We ensure there is a backup list of accredited therapists able to cover so as to ensure that there is no break in the complementary therapy schedule.

Reporting

We will send in-depth yearly reports to donors, as well as keeping them updated with our weekly e-newsletter, On the Pulse. Our website, twitter and Facebook page will all be regularly updated with news from Maggie's Cancerkin.

Location

Maggie's Cancerkin is based at the Royal Free Hospital in London NW3, which has an excellent reputation for oncology services, and draws patients from a wide catchment area. The combined population of the 3 boroughs served by the merger is 800,000, including some of the most deprived wards in England. It is a relatively young population and ethnically diverse (30% BME population). We also draw patients from other parts of London including Newham, Tower Hamlets and City & Hackney.

Beneficiaries

Anyone affected by cancer and those close to them; everything we offer is free of charge and open to all. Currently most of our patients are women (92%). The number of men using the services has increased to 8% in 2017. We provide support to all age ranges (39% of patients are over 60, a few are in their early 20s) and a wide range of ethnicities. In 2017 we received 6966 visits to the Centre.

Why Us?

Cancerkin was founded in 1987 and merged with Maggie's in 2016. We have 27 years of experience helping those diagnosed with cancer. Maggie's at the Cancerkin Centre is attached to the Royal Free Hospital and situated only a few minutes’ walk from the Breast clinic, oncology department and the Hospital wards, enabling us to provide ‘on site’ a warm, welcoming, non-clinical atmosphere at a time when patients or their kin may be at their lowest.